The house just keeps growing

A bit like Topsy the house just seems to keep growing as each new 'bit' is added.  The roofing has arrived and to my inexperienced eyes there doesn't seem enough. Nice colour though called Surfmist it's the closest we can get to the old zinc coloured roofs and I am sure will look wonderful as well as being just the right colour to reflect rather than absorb the suns rays. 

Brad the Stonemason has cracked on with building the back of the retaining wall out of mount Gambier stone.  In itself a nice looking stone and from the fairly local Mount Gambier quarry.  But it doesn't quite have the personality of the Paddock Stone, which is a slightly darker creamier colour and comes as quarried rough cut.

We decided to edge the wall with grey bull-nosed tiles so the hunt was on to find them as soon as possible.  We'd have hated to be the ones holding up proceedings.  We made enquiries locally, thinking just plain old tiles would be easy to source... but no.  We could only find fancy ones with beveled edges, the plain ones would cost much more and both would have to be shipped from Adelaide so of course there would be transport costs on top!  Havens with other bills coming at us it was time to let my fingers do the walking.  

Amazingly, we found a chap in Mount Gambier who was selling exactly what we wanted at a fraction of the cost.  They too had to be transported down from Adelaide.... but he said the driver is a nice chap who has to come past Naracoorte, infact the end of our road, and would probably be more than happy to do a quick detour to drop them off..... No extra charge.  Fantastic.  On the designate delivery day we got a call from the driver to say he was about an hour away. Off we shot to the block ready to help with the unloading.  He backed his huge articulated truck through both our gates, just an inch on either side of the trailer making it look so easy!!!  The tiles are perfect, confirming it really does pay to shop around.

At last our own electricity supply! Up till this week we have shared the meter box with our lovely neighbours.  Which meant the meter reader having to scramble over the fence to read it.... no longer we now have a very smart meter box and our own supply, unfortunately 'they' also cut off the electric supply which is needed by the builders and currently Brad! hay ho..... on the bright side all important plants were missed whilst digging the ditch, which apparently is unusual.

Deep joy in the kitchen department

I've been planning the kitchen...... yippeee.... and we both realised that we needed to probably buy the cooker, cooker hood and dishwasher sooner rather than later.  Loads and loads of research later reading reviews and trying to find the most energy efficient and cost effective products I finally made a decision.  With perfect timing there also happened to be a sale at a fairly large store in the Mount.  

We could put it off no longer a day trip the the Mount was needed.  A quick call to the large store to check they had at least something similar in stock and armed with the largest cooking pots I could find off we went.  I'm not quite sure how it happened.  I had in mind a UK freestanding cooker but had decided against it in favour of an Aus made brand of similar size and looks.  Somehow I've ended up getting the UK one!  hmmm.... not complaining though it is wonderful.  Five burners, cast iron, enamel doors a grill and two ovens AND only one baking sheet could not be fitted into it.  AND the range hood sorry cooker canopy was also part of the deal.  I am sure we are going to be friends once I've got the hang of having so much space and choice.  

I also managed to save a great deal of money on the dishwasher which, we're told, will only use less than half the water in a standard size sink. As well as being super energy efficient it's apparently whisper quiet when working.  

I had to laugh at an advert I saw for another dishwasher, rather alarmingly it was boasting a spin speed of 1200 rpm.  Good grief!

And there have been what feels like endless negotiations with electricians, all of whom seem to have different advice on just how many sockets, light switches, lights, dimmers etc., etc., are needed.  All of whom also charge extremely different prices.  It is very hard to work out quite where the furniture will go, especially when half of it is in a different hemisphere and what life will be like in our new home.  Both of which have to be considered so you're not driven half insane by the sockets, switches, lights etc., being in the wrong place.

On reflection though we are so so lucky that these are our major worries and for that I am more than glad and thankful.

On our way back from the Mount we did a detour through Millicent and stopped for a quick G'day at the Family History Group.  After a good couple of hours we came away with yet more information on the family, they really are such a generous lot with their time and resources.

And then had a wee bit of a Hans Heyson moment when the setting sun kissed these beautiful gums.

And finally our resident Kookaburras are still keeping an eye on the proceedings.  A couple of Crimson Rosellas, have been inspecting hollows in the trees, hopefully to set up camp.  A New Holland Honey Eater seems to like the forest of broad beans, though isn't to keen on me weeding there and disturbing his peace.

Where does the time go!

Time is flying past so fast I think the days must be getting shorter, we seem to have moved from a 24 hour day to a 12 hour day!

Rick has been doing impressive CAD drawings trying to make sense of the all important louvre roof. It turns out our draftsman didn't pay attention to a lot of detail of our house plans. Luckily our builders have used a great deal of common sense and made some changes for instance to the way the verandahs and roof now work together. At times though we have to be consulted, so far with a bit of creative thinking all challenges have been met.


In the process we have been learning some new building terminology though to start with we did think they were having a lend (or a laugh depending which hemisphere you're in).  So now our roof has not only a bastard valley but also a bastard hip!  Who'd have thought it.




We now have the concrete footings for the north and west retaining walls and the promise from Brad the Stone Mason of an early Monday morning start on the wall.

The 'top hats' sections are starting to be nailed into place ready for the roof insulation which will be closely followed by the roof going on.  Then it will look even more like a house..... Yippeee


Our excitement is only slightly tempered by sleepless nights.  Busy minds whirring away trying to work out the best way to allow maximum sun light into the house for passive winter warming and minimum sun light during the hot summer months. Thankfully Ricks technical drawing skills and mathematical mind have really come to the fore and we think we are slowly getting there. Maybe now moving away from the far more expensive and not so simple rain and sun tracking totally automatic option which however hard we try will probably not fit the 'gap'our draftsman has given us. Towards the ultra simple fixed louvre system which obviously requires no power or thought once it's in place, and it will more than likely be just as effective, though not as rain proof.

Historic Vehicle Club coffee run

We are brand new members of the Naracoorte Historic Vehicle Club and currently our historic vehicles are not in the best of health. So it was a welcome break from the louvre roof challenge and very kind of Jenny and Graham to offer us a ride in their beautiful 1948 Rover. It's in fantastic condition being nearly all original and lovely old leather seats and wooden dashboard, pure vintage. Getting out was a wee bit of a challenge due to the doors opening the opposite direction 'suicide doors'. With a little help from my friends I managed to get out eventually! We met the rest of the group at the Sheep's Back Museum and set off at a sedate pace in convoy to Francis, a nearby town of about 300 residents, for morning coffee.

Jenny & Graham

An impressive line up from the Historical Vehicle club at Francis

It was a grand morning out.

Amazing what's in flower now
The weather is changing all the time heading in the right direction and slowly warming up as the days are getting longer.  The weeds are delighting in the mellow weather and celebrating by spreading themselves as far and as lushly as possible.

The mound of rich soil we'd dug from Deb and Roberts drive is now a profusion of various rampant weeds, the most prolific being the Sour Sobs.  They are pretty yellow trumpet like flowers and related to the Oxalis group and so have Oxalis habits.  You can't just rip these little fellas out... no... they deceive you by, pleasingly,coming away very easily but they have the last laugh as every bibule or part of root you leave behind into another Soursob.... little devils.  And then of course they make themselves very attractive to bees... so it feels twice as bad even thinking of destroying a food source for the already scarce bee not to mention if a poison was used the chance of poisoning bees as well.  Which is my perfect excuse for in the main leaving them be and hoping the bees will also be encourage onto the veggie patch to pollinate the plants there.

Talking of which I seem to have a very dense forest of broad beans all of which are covered in deliciously scented flowers. Note to self not to sow them so close together next bean planting season. And now the peas are also in flower. The strawberries are beginning to flower, silver beet (chard) doing well and the parsnips have finally decided to put on a healthy show. Sadly the tomatoes had to go and are currently rotting down in a fresh new compost pit being made ready to replant the Passion Fruit into.  Poor old Nelly Kelly the passion fruit (seems strange to say that as they hardly ever reach fruiting stage in the UK unless grown in a glass house). I digress Nelly Kelly is looking very forlorn having now lost all her leaves. Recent advice indicated I'd managed to plant her in probably THE worst spot on the block.  I'm hoping she will enjoy the new position, forgive my error and thrive.

The citrus trees have also been struggling, possibly from a combination of the poor soil, lack of protection and bore water being a wee bit salty for them.  So Deb very kindly has once again rescued us these great pots which she'd made out of a recycled heavy duty plastic drum.  Cut in half and painted with terracotta paint they look very neat with the citrus trees in.

I needed to make a birthday bouquet for a special lady this week and to my delight and surprise managed to gather this little lot from the garden. Considering we are two weeks away from spring AND there have been recent frosts I thought you'd like to see what I'd found in flower.  Sweet peas, osteospermum, rosemary and beautifully scented narsissi, for greenery I used a sprig of parsley and carrot leaves. I'm amazed it's so unlike what could be found in my garden in the UK at the equivalent time of year.

And last but not least we have finally managed to strip down the Dunny door to discover it's probably made from Baltic Pine.  Which smelt delicious when we finally got to the bare wood, after a good coating of Linseed and Turps and a quick polish of the doorknobs she was hauled back into position.  I think looking very much smarter.

Spring is on it's way

On a particularly gloomy day Rick noticed a pavement sign outside one of the local shops declaring 'spring only a month away'.  That made us smile as the weather has been a bit gloomy, wet and cold. Which was how the week started and we really thought it would delay the work on the house but to our surprise our group of hardy builders toiled on and this is what they achieved inspite of the weather.

The mounds of soil surrounding the west and north facing sides of the house were taken away and footings dug for the retaining wall.  It was amazing the difference that made to the perception of how high the house sits and the size of the verandahs. It now looks like we have hyperactive moles on the block with the addition of two more large mounds of soil.

And then the sun came out the the roof trusses started to go up.... deep joy.

The tree trunk

Way back in February, you may recall, we (I use the term loosely)sadly had to fell a very large Hill Gum on the block.  By June we had finally found our man who creates really beautiful things out of local wood and even more importantly had the means and the inclination to slab our tree.  

In June with Deb and Fred's help we managed to get the trunk to him and now it's been slabbed. We were invited to watch and duly turned up with the large trailer and Dora

This amazing very simple machine with it's savage looking cutting wheel struggled to cut through the wood. 

I learnt what a cleat is.  For the uninitiated these are slab width pieces of wood evenly placed between the slabs to enable the air flow and allow even drying of the wood. The drying out will take about 4 years so we have that long to decide what to do with the gorgeous pieces of wood.

Now at the block the slabs have been placed on very carefully leveled Mount Gambier stone and now covered with some old tin roofing. It is so pleasing to see these beautiful pieces if wood, apart from anything else they smell amazing, it would have been a tragedy to have used it for fire wood.  A good lesson I think in not being in a rush to find a solution.

I can't finish this tale without introducing you to Redgum Man's (David) dog, Spud.  A lovely friendly Red Healer (similar to the one in the film Red Dog) who likes nothing better than being made a fuss of and chasing balls, which it turned out is how David get's her to drive the livestock. He has to launch either the much favoured and well chewed pink football in the direction he wants her to go.  Or do a similar thing practising his golf swing.

Spud obviously thinks this is most amusing

Freds new trick. That dog is a nutter and seems to get more human as the days pass. He also really likes the newly leveled verndahs and has taken to laying at the edge with his crossed front paws neatly over the side.

And finally we spotted this rural cat flap, neatly cut in the side of a barn door.

Keeping a cautious eye on things

Friends, frames and a frost!

Hot on the heels of a week of waiting for the concrete slab to cure when the most exciting thing to happen with the house was the frames arriving, we, in total contrast had a very busy and fun week.

Starting with a visit from a couple of 'old' friends from dear old Blighty.  To explain the 'old', we first met as neighbours when I was a teenager, so we haven't known each other that long then!  Sadly the weather was wet, windy and cold but being Poms and used to the cold and wet they didn't seem to notice it. Though it has to be noted they did mention on more than one occasion what a splendid summer they were having on the other side of the planet.  We visited the caves, did a wine tasting in Pinola, ate, drank and on occasions were very merry, talked non-stop in between laughing and very, very quickly they were off to the next stop on their whistle tour of Oz.

Wine tasting with the lovely Mr & Mrs B

The entrance to the  unassuming old shed, inside was an Aladdins cave of special wines.

The lady guiding us through the tasting very kindly let us in to look at the original owners private collection.  A beautiful old shed full of precious wines and character, if the walls could talk I'm sure they'd have had some tales to tell.

A beautiful stain glass window of The Laira, which apparently was the ship which brought out the original grape vines for this vineyard, some of which I believe are still being used.

More dusty bottles of precious old wines, sadly we weren't invited to taste any of this collection!

Back to the block.......

In no time at all the lads had reduced the huge pile of wood and erected the house frames. At long last we could see just how big the rooms are, bigger than I had imagined, it looks amazing.

West facing side looking towards, from the left, the side door to the lounge, the kitchen then the spare bedroom.

East facing side looking towards the 2nd spare bedroom, laundry and master bedroom.

North facing side looking at master bedroom and lounge.

We decided a really neat way to finish the west facing verandah would be to build a retaining wall of local stone, also called paddock stone.  The quarry is just the other side of town, so you really can't get more local than that.  The added bonus are the colours in the stone are beautiful being basically a warm sand stone with streaks of terracotta red running randomly through.  The shower wall will be made out of the same stone with Mount Gambier cornings.  Mount Gambier stone can be cut with a saw so it will be much easier to get the straight edge needed to butt up the the glass.

All we needed was the stone mason, we'd already seen a local chap at work earlier this year and had admired his work.  Rick persevered and finally managed to track the chap down and get him to come out the the block for a chat with us and the builder.  A plan was eventually formed, work allocated and a price and time scale agreed.  The builder will move much of the mound of soil, dig and concrete the footings.  The stone mason will hand select the stones to be used and, fingers crossed, within the month we should have a very smart wall around the shower and retaining wall for the north and west facing verandahs.

All VERY exciting.

And for those who really don't believe it can get really cold here, this is a photo taken from our current front door taken at about 6.15 am.  You could almost watch the frost getting thicker just before the sun came up about an hour later.  All very magical and blooming cold, the bonus of course is frosts mean clear skies and that means sunshine and a very beautiful winters day.  Such a pity Mr & Mrs B had already left they really didn't get to see Naracoorte at it's sparkly best.

Bits and pieces......

Not a lot of building work happened this week as we had to wait for the concrete slab to 'cure'.  I think we were both a bit surprised to find no footprints of any kind were imprinted into it.  We have been so lucky with the weather, the storms, very politely, held off until the concrete had cured so none was washed away down the slope.

Mean while life, of course continues.  We were invited to take part in the national tree planting day, which, given our passion for trees was very tempting.  But then we thought about it the site was quite a distance away from here.  So just how many trees would we have had to have planted to counter act the amount of carbon Dora would have produced to get us there... hmmm

So instead to celebrate Robert very kindly dug up a couple of their Lilly Pilly seedlings and we planted those instead on the block

With the excitement of the build there have been a few things that we've come across I've neglected to write about.

Firstly I'd like to introduce one of more furry neighbours, the lovely Tess, so gentle natured.  She very often wonders on to the block to say a waggy G'day to us. There is nothing nicer than having a good scratch... I am talking from Tess's point of view here. She sings and talks to us when we make a fuss of her.  Fred isn't to keen for us to share our affections but Tess just ignores him.

The other day she arrived with what could be mistaken as a very excited white fluffy duster.  It turned out to be Holly, a very fast white poodle type of dog.  Couldn't take a picture as she didn't stand still long enough!

Recycled Wire Gallery at KiKi

On our many drives to an fro to Adelaide we pass through a tiny town called Kiki and by a Recycled Wire Gallery. We had always wanted to stop for a look and eventually made the time to do so.

The couple who ran the place were a very interesting couple from New Zealand.  They spent many hours collecting abandoned rubbish and turning into fantastic art. If nothing else these pieces did make you smile. Broken mirrors were re-framed using barbed wire and tiny scenes scratched onto them. A herd of chicken wire elephants stood proudly in the back yard.  A water fall was made using an old shower. It was amazing,we are truly only limited by our imaginations. 

We'd certainly give homes to a few of the items for sale. The only thing which really didn't take my fancy was the huge wire spider placed on the ceiling. 

And lastly on the way to the block the other day we came across this flock being moved. The farmer was in his UTE following them and shouting the occasional direction to his Kelpie who was doing a grand job driving them up the road.  It was a great sight seeing how they were working together.

So many exciting happenings.....

Rain stopped pour....

The week started with a deluge of downpours so the Tuesday concrete pour had to be put off until the sun started shining again.  I know the next fact will hardly be impressive in the UK but we actually had 22 mms of water and the rain tanks were over flowing.  We were impressed but disappointed that we had to wait for the slab to be finished.

The weather reports were consulted and a cold but bright day was promised for Friday. Word was the pour would start at 7.00 am Friday morning. It was a blooming cold clear night on Thursday, the alarm clock was set for 6, and we were greeted by a very cold but dry morning.

After a quick but hearty brekkie many thermal layers were donned, scarves, hats and gloves, looking like a fat Nanook of the North, off we went to the block.  The team were (impressively) already assembled rugged up and ready. All except one chap who, rather alarmingly, wore shorts!! 

Looking towards the en-suite, north side of house

It wasn't long until the first of the 7 (and a bit) concrete mixers started to arrive. Slowly the wooden frames were filled.  The team worked hard to make sure there were no air bubbles trapped and all the nooks and crannys filled.  

It was a beautiful morning but very cold if you stood still for to long.  It wasn't long before Rick and I lost the feeling in our toes.  In total contrast the team of builders were soon stripping off their layers, which made us feel even colder.... brrrr

Last bit of concrete going in.

The concrete is given about a week to cure then the frames (which should arrive on Monday) will start going up.

The birds were very curious about the goings on and a couple of Kookaburras came down for a closer look. I do hope they approve.

Penny the pick up

As if that wasn't enough excitement the previous week whilst driving along Rick had spotted a sad looking Land Rover parked up but looking abandoned on someones drive.  After a few enquiries he got to talk to the owner who eventually was persuaded to think about selling it.  

He had thought the splines on the output shaft were stripped or the gear box was busted to you and I. A quick inspection and after a week of negotiations we hired a car trailer, hitched up Dora and went off to pick up the new acquisition.

In the Landy stable from left to right we have Dora, Landy and now Penny

As Rick says 'if you have more than one landy they will start multiplying!' 

The icing on the cake

THE Bendigo Sheep Show was on over the weekend and with a promise of all things connected to sheep off we went to Bendigo for a look.....and we weren't disappointed.

It is much much colder in Bendigo and there was actually an early morning frost (which did look beautiful).  The tall grasses and fencing were covered in spiders cobwebs with what looked like millions of diamonds glistening in the morning sun.  It looked magical.  On the way to the show we passed a field full of about 20 fluffed up and furry Kangaroos grazing. A couple of them were facing up to each other and started to box, quite an amazing sight, they looked quite off balance leaning back on their huge tails.

First stop were (nut surprisingly) the Wool Craft sheds.  We found the Ashford stand where a very kind lady persuaded me to have a go at spinning with one of the best wheels in the world. Her instructions were simple and before long I was spinning a fine yarn.  I soon became totally absorbed with the rhythm of the spin.  All went well until I over heard a Mum telling her curious daughter 'Look let's watch that lady spinning' eeek!

The Wool Craft sheds were like Aladins caves full up with many tempting treasures. Skeins of yarns all colours and natural fibres were offered for sale, the more unusual being possum, yak, camel and steel. Mind blowing.  I was amazed at just how many things I hadn't realised I needed before going there. We spoke to experts on many things, learnt lots and soon realised there is so much more to learn.  It was fantastic.

All types of sheep were being judged, there were shearing competitions and sheep dog trials.  Many schools and young farmers were represented.  We watched a Roustabout competition to find the best fleece preparer to represent Victoria in the Australian finals. These people were amazing to watch. They took less than 1 1/2 minutes to pick, clean and sort a fleece loosing points if the 'daggy bits' were put into the wrong basket, or if the fleece was hanging over the table. They also had to keep an eye on the shearer as these chaps can't be held up.  We were very impressed.

It was a very full day and we eventually headed back to campsite with Dora stuffed full of 'essentials' and our heads buzzing, for a quick bite to eat and an early night. 

Slightly off the beaten track we followed a 4wd track and found this amazing view from the top of Mount Moliagul Lookout.  So high up we looked down on three Wedge Tailed Eagles circling in the thermals.  Quite a breath taking moment.

Developments on the sand pit

With the water tank challenge sorted and the sand pit leveled the site was ready for the plumbers to do their bit.  Which didn't take long..... back to Sid and his 'band' of merry men to lay the plastic membrane and fit the blocks for the concrete pour.  At last it feels as if our house is taking shape, it's so much easier to work out where the rooms are now.  

The polystyrene blocks to make the waffle pods, (lots of them) were duly delivered, laid and held in place with steel construction.

It makes the house look huge.  We've been warned  by Sid that once the walls go up the house will look smaller.  Optical illusions!

Looking at the wet en-suite areas to the left is the master bedroom, to the right are the living areas.

More optical illusions looking at the north facing side of the house which is level but to me looks like it's slanting upwards.... though not quite so obvious looking at this photo.

The sparky has been everything is ready for the concrete.....which we are told will be happening next Tuesday.

There have also been more than a few moments of concern and sleepless nights.  Luckily Rick understands 'building' language and what all the 'shorthand' on the house drawings mean so he has been working very hard to head off any potential problems.

There was a recent report on the radio, a study into sleeping less than 7 hours a night.  Apparently there is evidence that people live longer... at this rate we're well on our way to reach 120 years old!!